Original Article
The Effect of Kinesio Taping in Forward Bending of the Lumbar Spine
J. Phys. Ther. Sci. 26: 1371–1375, 2014
Thiago Vilela Lemos1)*, Anna Carolina Gonçalves Albino1), Joao Paulo C. Matheus2), Aurélio de Melo Barbosa1) 1) Physical
2) Physical
Therapy Program, Universidade Estadual de Goiás: Goiânia, GO, Brazil Therapy Program, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
Abstract. [Purpose] The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a lumbar fascia Kinesio Taping® technique forward bending range of motion. [Subjects and Methods] This was a longitudinal study with a randomized clinical trial composed of 39 subjects divided into three groups (control, Kinesio Without Tension-KWT, and Kinesio Fascia Correction-KFC). The subjects were assessed by Schober and fingertip-to-floor tests and left the tape in place for 48 hours before being reassessed 24 hours, 48 hours and 30 days after its removal. [Results] In all three experimental groups no significant differences were observed with the Schober test, but it was possible to observe an increase in lumbar flexion after 30 days. With the fingertip-to-floor distance assessment, the KFC and KWT groups showed significantly improved flexibility 24 hours and 48 hours after tape removal. [Conclusion] The Kinesio Taping® influenced fascia mobility, allowing for slight improvement of lumbar flexibility. Key words: Kinesio Taping, Low back mobility, Fascia (This article was submitted Jan. 30, 2014, and was accepted Feb. 27, 2014)
INTRODUCTION The lumbar spine plays a key role in accommodating downward loads resulting from body weight distribution, muscle action, and external forces. The presence of imbalances in this region leads to instability, pain, and increased energy consumption while performing functional activities1–3). The lumbar fascial system supports and connects all tissues and harmonizes and organizes muscular and gravitational forces in the region4). In the case of fascial retraction, fascial tensions occur along with abnormal changes in tissue mobility and flexibility, which consequently leads to deterioration of movement. The fibrous connective tissue in this region has numerous mechanoreceptors that are occasionally activated to transmit sensitive and short-lived impulses. If these activations are prolonged, they quickly become oversensitive and even painful. Although individuals can withstand the initial painful symptoms, the condition is persistent and has a significant recurrence rate5). Low back pain has a prevalence of 80% in the general population, in which 50% of those affected recover spontaneously within two weeks and 90% recover within six weeks. However, the recurrence rate can be up to 60%6). The Kinesio Taping® (KT) technique uses a tape with *Corresponding Author. Thiago Vilela Lemos (E-mail: [email protected]) ©2014 The Society of Physical Therapy Science. Published by IPEC Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-ncnd) License .
unique qualities, the physiological applications of which include: correcting muscle activity, improving active range of motion, improving blood and lymphatic circulation, decreasing pain by neurological suppression, and repositioning joints7–9). The therapy done with KT using the fascial correction technique described by Kenzo Kase aims create and/or direct fascia movement in order to guide it along a desired direction or alignment7). Therefore, it is intended to free the fascia of any movement limitations through movement of the skin relative to target muscles by means of the mechanical tension generated by and elastic KT10). The tension imposed from this material, which deforms the fascia, stretches the bonds between molecules, promoting a gentle flow of electrons and generating a piezoelectric charge. The charge is interpreted by cells, which causes them to respond by increasing, reducing, or changing their local intercellular elements. The fascia is a tissue that will deform plastically if stretching is applied slowly enough4). Currently, there are few studies available KT and lumbar flexibility, especially for patients with low back pain. Other research with similar goals that have also used KT observed an improvement in range of motion and in pain reduction11–16). The current work found in the literature differs from the present study with regard to the method of application and location taped, with tape application varying along the lumbar area and in some cases extending down to the posterior region of the lower extremities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of KT with a lumbar fascia application on the range of motion in forward bending of the lumbar spine.
1372 J. Phys. Ther. Sci. Vol. 26, No. 9, 2014 SUBJECTS AND METHODS This was a longitudinal study composed of a randomized clinical trial and was conducted in the Universidade Estadual de Goiás from August to November of 2011. It was developed upon approval by the ethics committee for research of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases under protocol number 19/2011. The sample consisted of 18- to 27-year-old female volunteers and physiotherapy students, who did not present any movement dysfunction and did not perform any regular physical exercises. Subjects were excluded from the study if they presented a body mass index (BMI) greater than 29, had musculoskeletal disorders or recently presented low back and spinal pain, were participants in any stretching program, and/or presented allergy to the taping material. All the participants provided informed consent for participation in the research before the study began. Initially, the study consisted of 45 participants randomly divided into three groups (control, Kinesio Without Tension-KWT, and Kinesio Fascia Correction-KFC) and pared according to age and BMI. However, during the study, one subject was excluded because of an allergy to the Kinesio Taping, and five others were excluded because they did not return for the last assessments. Therefore, the final sample was composed of 39 subjects allocated into three groups containing 13 individuals each. Lumbar flexibility was evaluated by the Schober test, marking the midpoint of the two posterior-superior iliac spines (S2 level) and then other two points 5 cm below and 10 cm above the initial level. The distance between the three points was measured in the standing position, and then the subject was instructed to bend forward for reassessment. The difference between the two measurements is an indication of the magnitude of flexion that occurs at the low back and should be at least five centimeters for lumbar mobility to be considered normal17). We also analyzed the fingertipto-floor distance, which consisted of measuring the distance from the distal end of the third finger to the ground when the patient bent the trunk forward. The subject was considered within normal flexibility parameters for this test when the third finger was able to touch the ground18). The original bandage brand indicated by Kinesio Taping Association International (KTAI), Kinesio Tex Gold 5 cm wide, was used to perform the KT technique. The control group did not receive any KT application. The KWT group received the KT application with two 30 cm “I” strips while the subjects were in position of maximum forward bending of the spine. This application was performed simply by applying the tape to the skin with 0% tension. The KFC group received the same cut of tape and used the same application position as the KWT group, but the researcher applied the Kinesio Taping Fascia Correction Technique10) by utilizing short and long oscillations in order to apply a varied amount of tension of 15% to 50%. The same procedure was used for application of the second tape, as shown in Fig. 1. The KWT and KFC subjects left the Kinesio Tape in
Fig. 1. Kinesio Taping application for fascia correction
place for 48 hours and were reassessed at 24 hours with the tape on, 48 hours with the tape on, and 30 days after tape removal. Data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences® (SPSS) software, version 15.0. To verify the normality of the distribution of scalar variables, the Shapiro-Wilk test was utilized, and for all the variables that had a normal distribution, a parametric test was applied. Only the value of BMI showed an abnormal distribution (p = 0.01), and to check the difference between the average positions of BMI groups, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used the Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction significance was applied for the differences between pairs. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the independent sample and found the mean age between the groups. Inferential statistics were utilized to compare the means of the groups by means of ANOVA for repeated measures, which compared lumbar flexibility before and after application of KT, as well as the means of the control, KFC, and KST groups. All the tests utilized in this research used a value of 0.05 for statistical significance and a confidence interval of 95%. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The mean age of the sample analyzed was 21.23 ± 2.07 years, with the minimum being 18 years and the maximum being 27 years. From comparison of the mean age between the groups, it was concluded that there were no significant differences regarding the mean age of the subjects in each group (p = 0.169), thus showing age homogeneity in the whole sample. When analyzing BMI, the average was found to be 20.71 ± 1.83 kg/m 2, with the minimum and maximum values being 17.21 kg/m 2 and 25.81 kg/m 2. The Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction showed no homogeneity of BMI in the sample and subsequent significant differences between the KWT and KFC groups as result of the randomization process. Because the sample was only composed of females, it differs from other studies that also included males. Although subjects were compared with in these other studies, it is not ideal to have a mixed sample, since there are differ-
1373 ences in flexibility between men and women19). The average Schober Test result for all participants, before application of KT, was 6.07 ± 1.2 cm. This shows that most subjects had normal lumbar spine mobility. After applying KT, there was a reduction in the average Schober Test result in both the KWT group and the KFC group, as illustrated in Table 1. After 30 days, there was an increase in the averages in all three groups. No statistically significant differences were found between the averages obtained from the Schober Test before applying the KT, 48 hours with the tape on, and 30 days after tape removal, in any of the groups. The average reduction after application of KT may have occurred as a result of the initial restriction to the lumbar joints due to the tape’s elastic resistance. It can be inferred that the augmented flexibility witnessed 30 days after KT removal was due to possible fascia mobilization as well as improvement of local blood flow and lymphatic circulation. This was a sample of young, healthy subjects with normal BMI values and no lumbar issues such characteristics may explain the lack of statistically significant results. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study with subjects presenting actual dysfunctions and abnormal situations. The results of the present study corroborate those obtained by Salvat and Salvat (2010), who concluded that there was no significant increase in lumbar mobility, since a gain in range of motion as a result of reduction of the coxofemoral angle indicates improved flexibility of the posterior muscles of the lower extremities13). According to the averages obtained in the control group, as shown in Table 1, there were no significant gains in flexibility, since these individuals did not receive any taping. Table 2 shows the results for the KWT group, and illustrates that a significantly different mean, 16.5 cm was obtained 24 hours with the tape on. Furthermore, reassessment at 48 hours with the tape on showed improvement of flexibility, with the average distance being 13.88 cm. Thus, it can be inferred that the participants showed an average
Table 1. Average of obtained values in centimeters for the Schober’s test in each group Time/Group Before 24 hours 48 hours 30 days
Control
KWT
KFC
5.88 ±3.2 5.89 ±5.1 5.83±3.3 6.37±4.2
6.51 ±5.1 6.15 ±2.5 5.99 ±2.4 6.63 ±3.1
5.90 ±5.3 5.71 ±3.7 5.70 ±3.3 6.22 ±4
increase of 8.49 cm 48 hours when utilizing KT without tension, which make the results even more relevant. Thirty days after tape removal, the participants lost some of the acquired flexibility (1.65 cm). However, the final average (15.53 cm) remained below the baseline (22.37 cm) value. It should be noted that no significant differences were observed between flexibility values before application of KT and 30 days after its removal. Applying KT without tension is a new modality that makes use of the Kinesio Taping Method called no tension taping. When applying the elastic fabric over stretched skin, there is a retraction response from the Kinesio Tex tape itself, which is accompanied by the return of elasticity generated by the skin. This retraction is generally used with tensions of between 10% and 25%; however, as shown at the International Symposium for Research in Kinesio Taping in Japan in 2012, retraction is present even at 0% applied tension. This KT retraction triggers a series of convolutions that provide improved blood and lymphatic fluid circulation as well as decompressions of the various local mechanoreceptors. The results in Table 2 show that the average fingertipto-floor distance before applying KFC group was 17.05 cm. When reassessed 24 hours with the tape on, there was increased flexibility; however, its significance was 0.059. After 48 hours with the tape on, there was an improvement in flexibility, as the average was 11.74 cm. At 30 days after tape removal, the average was 13.51 cm. Like the KWT group, the KFC group demonstrated significant differences between the values obtained before applying KT and 48 hours with the tape on. The difference between before KT and after 48 hours was 5.31 cm. During the period of one month without the KT, the individuals lost about 1.77 cm of the flexibility that they had obtained. There were no significant differences between the values obtained before applying KT and those at 30 days after tape removal. The results also show that there were no statistical differences between the KFC and KWT groups. In other words, both groups showed improvement in lower limb flexibility during the same time interval. In a similar study, an improvement in flexibility of 2.15 ± 2.30 was observed and found to be significant12). However, this result was inferior to that obtained in the present study in the KWT and KFC groups. To compare the averages of the two studies, two factors should be considered: the time the tape stayed on the skin and width of the KT that was used. The authors of the aforementioned study used a thinner tape width (2.5 cm) than in the present study (5 cm), which consequently would trigger less local mechanical and
Table 2. Average values for fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD) Group
FFD before
FFD at 48 h with tape on
FFD at 30 days after tape removal
Control group Kinesio without Tension (KWT) Kinesio Fascia Correction (KFC)
16.73 ± 2.63 22.37 ± 2.63 17.05 ± 1.89
16.54 ±2.78 13.88 ± 1.66* 11.74 ± 2.14*
15.85 ± 2.79 15.53 ± 1.99 13.51 ± 1.99
*p
The Effect of Kinesio Taping in Forward Bending of the Lumbar Spine
J. Phys. Ther. Sci. 26: 1371–1375, 2014
Thiago Vilela Lemos1)*, Anna Carolina Gonçalves Albino1), Joao Paulo C. Matheus2), Aurélio de Melo Barbosa1) 1) Physical
2) Physical
Therapy Program, Universidade Estadual de Goiás: Goiânia, GO, Brazil Therapy Program, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
Abstract. [Purpose] The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a lumbar fascia Kinesio Taping® technique forward bending range of motion. [Subjects and Methods] This was a longitudinal study with a randomized clinical trial composed of 39 subjects divided into three groups (control, Kinesio Without Tension-KWT, and Kinesio Fascia Correction-KFC). The subjects were assessed by Schober and fingertip-to-floor tests and left the tape in place for 48 hours before being reassessed 24 hours, 48 hours and 30 days after its removal. [Results] In all three experimental groups no significant differences were observed with the Schober test, but it was possible to observe an increase in lumbar flexion after 30 days. With the fingertip-to-floor distance assessment, the KFC and KWT groups showed significantly improved flexibility 24 hours and 48 hours after tape removal. [Conclusion] The Kinesio Taping® influenced fascia mobility, allowing for slight improvement of lumbar flexibility. Key words: Kinesio Taping, Low back mobility, Fascia (This article was submitted Jan. 30, 2014, and was accepted Feb. 27, 2014)
INTRODUCTION The lumbar spine plays a key role in accommodating downward loads resulting from body weight distribution, muscle action, and external forces. The presence of imbalances in this region leads to instability, pain, and increased energy consumption while performing functional activities1–3). The lumbar fascial system supports and connects all tissues and harmonizes and organizes muscular and gravitational forces in the region4). In the case of fascial retraction, fascial tensions occur along with abnormal changes in tissue mobility and flexibility, which consequently leads to deterioration of movement. The fibrous connective tissue in this region has numerous mechanoreceptors that are occasionally activated to transmit sensitive and short-lived impulses. If these activations are prolonged, they quickly become oversensitive and even painful. Although individuals can withstand the initial painful symptoms, the condition is persistent and has a significant recurrence rate5). Low back pain has a prevalence of 80% in the general population, in which 50% of those affected recover spontaneously within two weeks and 90% recover within six weeks. However, the recurrence rate can be up to 60%6). The Kinesio Taping® (KT) technique uses a tape with *Corresponding Author. Thiago Vilela Lemos (E-mail: [email protected]) ©2014 The Society of Physical Therapy Science. Published by IPEC Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-ncnd) License .
unique qualities, the physiological applications of which include: correcting muscle activity, improving active range of motion, improving blood and lymphatic circulation, decreasing pain by neurological suppression, and repositioning joints7–9). The therapy done with KT using the fascial correction technique described by Kenzo Kase aims create and/or direct fascia movement in order to guide it along a desired direction or alignment7). Therefore, it is intended to free the fascia of any movement limitations through movement of the skin relative to target muscles by means of the mechanical tension generated by and elastic KT10). The tension imposed from this material, which deforms the fascia, stretches the bonds between molecules, promoting a gentle flow of electrons and generating a piezoelectric charge. The charge is interpreted by cells, which causes them to respond by increasing, reducing, or changing their local intercellular elements. The fascia is a tissue that will deform plastically if stretching is applied slowly enough4). Currently, there are few studies available KT and lumbar flexibility, especially for patients with low back pain. Other research with similar goals that have also used KT observed an improvement in range of motion and in pain reduction11–16). The current work found in the literature differs from the present study with regard to the method of application and location taped, with tape application varying along the lumbar area and in some cases extending down to the posterior region of the lower extremities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of KT with a lumbar fascia application on the range of motion in forward bending of the lumbar spine.
1372 J. Phys. Ther. Sci. Vol. 26, No. 9, 2014 SUBJECTS AND METHODS This was a longitudinal study composed of a randomized clinical trial and was conducted in the Universidade Estadual de Goiás from August to November of 2011. It was developed upon approval by the ethics committee for research of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases under protocol number 19/2011. The sample consisted of 18- to 27-year-old female volunteers and physiotherapy students, who did not present any movement dysfunction and did not perform any regular physical exercises. Subjects were excluded from the study if they presented a body mass index (BMI) greater than 29, had musculoskeletal disorders or recently presented low back and spinal pain, were participants in any stretching program, and/or presented allergy to the taping material. All the participants provided informed consent for participation in the research before the study began. Initially, the study consisted of 45 participants randomly divided into three groups (control, Kinesio Without Tension-KWT, and Kinesio Fascia Correction-KFC) and pared according to age and BMI. However, during the study, one subject was excluded because of an allergy to the Kinesio Taping, and five others were excluded because they did not return for the last assessments. Therefore, the final sample was composed of 39 subjects allocated into three groups containing 13 individuals each. Lumbar flexibility was evaluated by the Schober test, marking the midpoint of the two posterior-superior iliac spines (S2 level) and then other two points 5 cm below and 10 cm above the initial level. The distance between the three points was measured in the standing position, and then the subject was instructed to bend forward for reassessment. The difference between the two measurements is an indication of the magnitude of flexion that occurs at the low back and should be at least five centimeters for lumbar mobility to be considered normal17). We also analyzed the fingertipto-floor distance, which consisted of measuring the distance from the distal end of the third finger to the ground when the patient bent the trunk forward. The subject was considered within normal flexibility parameters for this test when the third finger was able to touch the ground18). The original bandage brand indicated by Kinesio Taping Association International (KTAI), Kinesio Tex Gold 5 cm wide, was used to perform the KT technique. The control group did not receive any KT application. The KWT group received the KT application with two 30 cm “I” strips while the subjects were in position of maximum forward bending of the spine. This application was performed simply by applying the tape to the skin with 0% tension. The KFC group received the same cut of tape and used the same application position as the KWT group, but the researcher applied the Kinesio Taping Fascia Correction Technique10) by utilizing short and long oscillations in order to apply a varied amount of tension of 15% to 50%. The same procedure was used for application of the second tape, as shown in Fig. 1. The KWT and KFC subjects left the Kinesio Tape in
Fig. 1. Kinesio Taping application for fascia correction
place for 48 hours and were reassessed at 24 hours with the tape on, 48 hours with the tape on, and 30 days after tape removal. Data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences® (SPSS) software, version 15.0. To verify the normality of the distribution of scalar variables, the Shapiro-Wilk test was utilized, and for all the variables that had a normal distribution, a parametric test was applied. Only the value of BMI showed an abnormal distribution (p = 0.01), and to check the difference between the average positions of BMI groups, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used the Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction significance was applied for the differences between pairs. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the independent sample and found the mean age between the groups. Inferential statistics were utilized to compare the means of the groups by means of ANOVA for repeated measures, which compared lumbar flexibility before and after application of KT, as well as the means of the control, KFC, and KST groups. All the tests utilized in this research used a value of 0.05 for statistical significance and a confidence interval of 95%. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The mean age of the sample analyzed was 21.23 ± 2.07 years, with the minimum being 18 years and the maximum being 27 years. From comparison of the mean age between the groups, it was concluded that there were no significant differences regarding the mean age of the subjects in each group (p = 0.169), thus showing age homogeneity in the whole sample. When analyzing BMI, the average was found to be 20.71 ± 1.83 kg/m 2, with the minimum and maximum values being 17.21 kg/m 2 and 25.81 kg/m 2. The Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction showed no homogeneity of BMI in the sample and subsequent significant differences between the KWT and KFC groups as result of the randomization process. Because the sample was only composed of females, it differs from other studies that also included males. Although subjects were compared with in these other studies, it is not ideal to have a mixed sample, since there are differ-
1373 ences in flexibility between men and women19). The average Schober Test result for all participants, before application of KT, was 6.07 ± 1.2 cm. This shows that most subjects had normal lumbar spine mobility. After applying KT, there was a reduction in the average Schober Test result in both the KWT group and the KFC group, as illustrated in Table 1. After 30 days, there was an increase in the averages in all three groups. No statistically significant differences were found between the averages obtained from the Schober Test before applying the KT, 48 hours with the tape on, and 30 days after tape removal, in any of the groups. The average reduction after application of KT may have occurred as a result of the initial restriction to the lumbar joints due to the tape’s elastic resistance. It can be inferred that the augmented flexibility witnessed 30 days after KT removal was due to possible fascia mobilization as well as improvement of local blood flow and lymphatic circulation. This was a sample of young, healthy subjects with normal BMI values and no lumbar issues such characteristics may explain the lack of statistically significant results. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study with subjects presenting actual dysfunctions and abnormal situations. The results of the present study corroborate those obtained by Salvat and Salvat (2010), who concluded that there was no significant increase in lumbar mobility, since a gain in range of motion as a result of reduction of the coxofemoral angle indicates improved flexibility of the posterior muscles of the lower extremities13). According to the averages obtained in the control group, as shown in Table 1, there were no significant gains in flexibility, since these individuals did not receive any taping. Table 2 shows the results for the KWT group, and illustrates that a significantly different mean, 16.5 cm was obtained 24 hours with the tape on. Furthermore, reassessment at 48 hours with the tape on showed improvement of flexibility, with the average distance being 13.88 cm. Thus, it can be inferred that the participants showed an average
Table 1. Average of obtained values in centimeters for the Schober’s test in each group Time/Group Before 24 hours 48 hours 30 days
Control
KWT
KFC
5.88 ±3.2 5.89 ±5.1 5.83±3.3 6.37±4.2
6.51 ±5.1 6.15 ±2.5 5.99 ±2.4 6.63 ±3.1
5.90 ±5.3 5.71 ±3.7 5.70 ±3.3 6.22 ±4
increase of 8.49 cm 48 hours when utilizing KT without tension, which make the results even more relevant. Thirty days after tape removal, the participants lost some of the acquired flexibility (1.65 cm). However, the final average (15.53 cm) remained below the baseline (22.37 cm) value. It should be noted that no significant differences were observed between flexibility values before application of KT and 30 days after its removal. Applying KT without tension is a new modality that makes use of the Kinesio Taping Method called no tension taping. When applying the elastic fabric over stretched skin, there is a retraction response from the Kinesio Tex tape itself, which is accompanied by the return of elasticity generated by the skin. This retraction is generally used with tensions of between 10% and 25%; however, as shown at the International Symposium for Research in Kinesio Taping in Japan in 2012, retraction is present even at 0% applied tension. This KT retraction triggers a series of convolutions that provide improved blood and lymphatic fluid circulation as well as decompressions of the various local mechanoreceptors. The results in Table 2 show that the average fingertipto-floor distance before applying KFC group was 17.05 cm. When reassessed 24 hours with the tape on, there was increased flexibility; however, its significance was 0.059. After 48 hours with the tape on, there was an improvement in flexibility, as the average was 11.74 cm. At 30 days after tape removal, the average was 13.51 cm. Like the KWT group, the KFC group demonstrated significant differences between the values obtained before applying KT and 48 hours with the tape on. The difference between before KT and after 48 hours was 5.31 cm. During the period of one month without the KT, the individuals lost about 1.77 cm of the flexibility that they had obtained. There were no significant differences between the values obtained before applying KT and those at 30 days after tape removal. The results also show that there were no statistical differences between the KFC and KWT groups. In other words, both groups showed improvement in lower limb flexibility during the same time interval. In a similar study, an improvement in flexibility of 2.15 ± 2.30 was observed and found to be significant12). However, this result was inferior to that obtained in the present study in the KWT and KFC groups. To compare the averages of the two studies, two factors should be considered: the time the tape stayed on the skin and width of the KT that was used. The authors of the aforementioned study used a thinner tape width (2.5 cm) than in the present study (5 cm), which consequently would trigger less local mechanical and
Table 2. Average values for fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD) Group
FFD before
FFD at 48 h with tape on
FFD at 30 days after tape removal
Control group Kinesio without Tension (KWT) Kinesio Fascia Correction (KFC)
16.73 ± 2.63 22.37 ± 2.63 17.05 ± 1.89
16.54 ±2.78 13.88 ± 1.66* 11.74 ± 2.14*
15.85 ± 2.79 15.53 ± 1.99 13.51 ± 1.99
*p
